Fish, Bread, and Honey

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:9-11)

What do you expect of God?

Tell the truth. Haven’t many of us expected God to withhold pleasant gifts because we think HE thinks it would be bad for us?  And don’t many of us think that God puts us through unpleasant, even awful things, and expects us to thank Him for loving us enough to discipline us?

We expect snakes and stones, and force ourselves say we’re thankful for them. We hate to say it but we think God is mean and expects us to be grateful about it.  

I wonder how life would be if we saw God as the Good Shepherd, who lets us lie in green pastures by still waters.  How would we pray to a God who delights in our company and longs to give us the desires of our hearts? 

I know. All this sounds good, but how do we explain all those awful things that happen to us? If God is so sweet, why is life so bitter? 

I think of how God once provided honey on the ground to sustain Israel’s army, but King Saul ordered them not to eat any until they had done their jobs.  (1 Samuel 14:24-25).

Perhaps instead of explaining why bad things happen to good people, we could look for the honey on the ground that we are denying ourselves. There are hard tasks to be done, but good things to be enjoyed along the way.  Don’t miss them.

Ask for bread. Eat the fish. Look for honey.